Content may still be king, but in the B2B world, too much of it is ruling over empty kingdoms. Despite a proliferation of whitepapers, blog posts, gated ebooks and branded reports, many B2B marketers are still struggling to turn engagement into meaningful pipeline.
So what’s going wrong?
The mismatch between content and buyer intent
One of the most common (and costly) mistakes in B2B content strategy is assuming that engagement equals intent. But just because someone downloaded your whitepaper doesn’t mean they’re ready to buy – or even to talk to sales.
Too much B2B content is created without clear alignment to where the buyer is in their journey. This results in top-of-funnel assets being treated like sales-ready leads, or product-led content being pushed at prospects who are still in the research phase.
The fix: Segment your content by buyer stage. Use frameworks like TOFU/MOFU/BOFU (top, middle and bottom of the funnel) or problem/solution/vendor to ensure each piece of content is serving a distinct role in the journey. Pair this with intent signals (from tools like Bombora or 6sense) to make sure you’re not mistaking curiosity for conversion readiness.
Content that lacks a clear next step
Many marketers spend days polishing the perfect blog post, only to tack on a generic CTA at the end: “Learn more,” “Contact us,” or worse, nothing at all.
Without a clearly defined and appropriate next step, even great B2B content fails to move prospects down the funnel. Audiences need to be guided, not just informed.
The fix: Every content asset should have a purpose – and an action. That doesn’t always mean booking a demo. It could be signing up to a newsletter, downloading a related piece, or watching a customer story. The key is progression: what’s the logical, low-friction next step for someone who just engaged with this piece?
Poor alignment with sales
In many organisations, B2B content is still seen as a top-of-funnel activity – something separate from what sales teams are doing. As a result, content fails to reflect the questions, objections, and decision dynamics that real buyers face in the sales process.
Without that input, marketers risk creating content that ticks boxes but doesn’t close gaps.
The fix: Create B2B content that solves real sales problems. Ask your SDRs and account managers what objections come up on calls, what competitors are saying, and which materials actually get used. Some of the highest-performing content assets are objection-busting one-pagers, battlecards, or tools tailored to specific verticals or personas – not necessarily glossy ebooks.
Not enough specificity
Generic content doesn’t convert. If your whitepaper could apply to any company in any industry, it’s probably not going to drive much action. Buyers want to feel understood – and that means showing deep knowledge of their world.
The fix: Go narrow. Create verticalised, role-specific or stage-specific content that speaks directly to your target audience. Rather than writing a catch-all guide to “B2B marketing strategy,” write “A field marketer’s guide to multi-touch attribution in the manufacturing sector.”
Yes, it takes more effort – but relevance converts.
The wrong success metrics
If your content programme is being judged on traffic, clicks and form fills, don’t be surprised when the leads are low quality or stall at marketing qualification.
Too many B2B teams optimise for vanity metrics. A blog that drives 10,000 views might look great on a dashboard – but if none of those readers fit your ICP or convert into pipeline, it’s a resource drain, not a win.
The fix: Start with pipeline goals, not publishing goals. Build backwards: what kind of content has historically influenced deals? Where do your best leads come from? Attribution can be messy, but over time, patterns emerge. Focus your efforts on the formats, topics and distribution tactics that actually drive conversions – not just clicks.
Gated content that doesn’t earn the gate
Gating can be an effective tactic – but only if what’s behind the form is genuinely worth trading contact details for. Too often, marketers gate mid-quality assets that offer little beyond what’s already publicly available.
This erodes trust, increases bounce rates, and gives sales teams a flood of uninterested leads.
The fix: Gate selectively. Only put forms in front of high-value, deep-dive content – think original research, ROI calculators, or highly targeted solution guides. And consider progressive profiling or “ungated” experiences supported by reverse IP lookup tools, which allow lead capture without disrupting user experience.
Content that ignores the buying committee
B2B buying is rarely a solo affair. In many cases, half a dozen people or more will influence the decision. Yet most content is written for a single persona.
That creates gaps. For example, a technical buyer might need reassurance around integrations, while a CFO wants to see cost savings, and an end user wants a simple UX.
The fix: Map your content to the entire buying committee. Create tailored messages and assets for each stakeholder – and think about how you can equip your champion with materials to bring others along. That could include budget justification templates, IT checklists, or case studies segmented by function.
Content that’s divorced from brand
In the race to drive conversions, some B2B teams focus entirely on performance content – sacrificing consistency, creativity, or long-term brand equity in the process. But buyers don’t make decisions in isolation. The emotional and reputational halo of your brand matters, even in highly rational purchase journeys.
The fix: Don’t treat performance and brand content as mutually exclusive. The most effective B2B brands combine rational messaging with creative storytelling, showing both value and personality. Invest in a consistent voice, strong visual identity, and brand anchors that make your content memorable – not just measurable.
Weak distribution strategy
Even the best content is useless if no one sees it. Many teams hit “publish” and hope for the best, relying on organic traffic or occasional social shares to carry the weight.
But in today’s crowded B2B landscape, content needs a plan.
The fix: Think like a media company. Build multichannel distribution into your strategy from day one: LinkedIn, email nurture sequences, paid social, partner channels, influencer amplification, sales enablement, and SEO. Repurpose intelligently: a webinar can become six blog posts, three clips for LinkedIn, a quote-driven article and a podcast discussion.
Create once, distribute endlessly.
From content engine to conversion engine
It’s not enough to publish regularly or attract eyeballs. Modern B2B content marketing needs to be outcome-driven: rooted in buyer behaviour, optimised for movement across the funnel, and tied tightly to pipeline.
This means rethinking how we plan, produce and promote content. It means shifting from volume to value – from clicks to conversion.
High-performing teams don’t just ask, “What content should we create?” They ask, “What actions do we want to drive – and what content will help get us there?”
That mindset shift is the difference between content that performs and content that just fills a calendar.
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